• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 8, 2015

Well, you could see this one coming from a mile away. That and the fact that we will have to now endure #TheDress in every single advertising-related panel at every single marketing conference for the next year. Think Oreo Dunk in the Dark. 

Anyway, the Johannesburg office of Ireland/Davenport created an ad for the Salvation Army using the white and gold version of #TheDress on a woman with bruises on her face and legs. The copy reads: "Why is it so hard to see black and blue."

Defending the ad, which ran in Friday's Cape Times, against those who found the ad belittling of the domestic violence issue, an agency statement read: “Overall people have been commenting how they hate the fact that an insignificant thing like this could take priority on the internet over more pressing topics such as abuse.” 

Many -- including AdWeek's Alfred Maskeroni, who called the ad brilliant -- thought the ad was well-crafted, timely and on point. But Maskeroni's love for the ad didn't stop one commenter from dubbing the ad something created by "Cannes panderers."